A thunderous crash came from the eastern side of the courtyard, making the flagstones beneath their feet tremble faintly. Shen Fei and Shen Hong stopped what they were doing at the same time and turned toward the sound.
A massive shadow was slowly rising by the eastern courtyard wall, blotting out the light beyond it.
At first, the shadow was only a few dozen feet tall. As it stretched its form in the night wind, it grew inch by inch, soon overtopping the courtyard wall, then the crown of the old locust tree beside it. Finally, it stopped at roughly fifty feet, looming at the edge of the courtyard like a dark, brooding mountain.
The Shadow Demon was formed entirely from dense black mist. His shape was indistinct and shifting, his edges constantly curling and flowing like a crumpled shroud of night.
His arms were as thick as stone pillars, and his fingertips nearly touched the ground when they hung at his sides. His head vaguely resembled a human's, but had no features, only two dark red fissures where his face should have been, like closed eyes.
A heavy, icy pressure spread from his body, making everyone in the courtyard catch their breath.
The instant Shen Fei felt that pressure settle on him, the muscles in his back tensed.
It was utterly different from Shen Hong's pressure. Though Shen Hong's aura was heavy, it still had a tangible quality that a person could withstand.
This pressure bore down from above, like a mountain slowly descending overhead, inching closer and closer to one's skull, making one instinctively want to bend at the waist, buckle at the knees, and bow one's head.
That was the aura of Legend Rank. Even if he had only just stepped across its threshold, the gap between